Something New
by Ai Hasana
Summary: Gin is a heartless jerk who already has a girlfriend. But when he loses his job and home, he has to start a new beginning. What happens when he moves in with a friend, and meets someone new? What is this weird emotion he feels?  GinxOC  Rated M for later
1. Confiding

_**Okay, guys, sorry for just screwing up the whole entire Cold Love fanfic. I got bored of it, because I felt that it lacked substance. I'm redoing it, except with a different plot and a different world and everything. Bear with me, please? :3 I'm sorry for disappointing you!**_

_**Read and Review, please!**_

_Disclaimer: _**I do not own Bleach. All credits go to Tite Kubo **

_**Something New**_

_Chapter 1: Confiding_

"Do you believe in real love?"

I would frown whenever someone close to me asked such an absurd question. Me, Ichimaru Gin, believe in love? Ridiculous. Of course I didn't believe in real love. There was no such thing. The most anyone could get out of me was a careless fling. But was that really what my love life was? I'm 28 years old, and I'm taken. My childhood friend and current girlfriend, Matsumoto Rangiku, is a great lover. We've lasted eight years already, and I'm sure we can continue life on as a couple. Not a married one. Just a normal couple, dating and holding hands. Having sex on the beach and chilling at bars. I'm cool with that. I don't need to find real love. It's just a figment of imagination.

Lately, I've been dealing with a rather troublesome problem. I was recently laid off from my high paying job. Now I'm stuck at the bottom again, looking for a place to live and a new occupation. Ran-chan insisted that I stayed at her place, but there's no way I'd do such a thing, y'know? It'd be too much trouble for her, and I know that she wanted us to be closer. So close that we'd be getting married in no time. Hells no. I've got a life. I searched through my contact list and found the number for the one man who could give me a nice place to live: Aizen Sousuke.

"Hello?" I sighed into the phone when I heard Aizen's deep voice. He was my sempai during high school and college. I admired him; he helped me handle my personal issues. He taught me how to study, how to fight, how to decieve people. Of course after college, we stayed in touch via email, but this was my first time calling him after six years. "Hi, Aizen. It's Gin. I sorta need yer help." I said, slightly embarrassed. Was this setting aside my pride? "Gin? That's usual. What's the matter?" Aizen was curious. I could tell by his tone. "I... got laid off by mah boss. I was thinkin' if ya could find mah a place to live while I search fer an apartment?" I said, sighing heavily after saying all that. I could literally hear him smile into the phone. "What about your girlfriend?" Aizen asked. "I'd rather not bother Ran-chan." I replied honestly. "Ya know. Too much trouble." There was an awkard silence. Too silent for my liking. "Fine. Come by my house tomorrow. I might be able to help." He said and hung up. I stared at my phone while it beeped. He might be able to help? He'd better help. Seriously, or I was in deep shit.

~l~

DING DONG!

I rang the doorbell to a humongous mansion. Glad to see that Aizen was living in one hell of a nice place. "Coming!" I heard a girl call out. Was Aizen married now? The door opened, and a girl peeked out. She had short red hair, the color of ripe strawberries that were bursting with flavor. Her big amthyst eyes blinked innocently at me. Her skin was as pale but peachy, which didn't seem to make sense at all (because it didn't). Aizen's maid, maybe? That guy would definitely have a lot of those. "Hiya, kid. I'm here to see Aizen Sousuke." I said casually, gving her a wide smile. My smile seemed to have scared her a little. She took a step back. "M-may I ask who you are?" she mumbled quietly. "Name's Ichimaru Gin." I introduced myself. "O-oh! Ojii-sama was expecting you!" The girl opened the door wider. "Please come on in! I'll go get him!" She ran off. Leaving a the door open to a total stranger? She sure was one heck of a gullible being. Seconds passed after I took off my black dress shoes when Aizen made his grand entrance into the living room. "It's been a while, Gin." He smiled at me and extending his hand. I accepted it, and shook it. Aizen looked nearly the same as he did in college. He still had those wavy brown locks, and the stupid nerdy glasses he didn't need. "You look well." I said. "I am well." He replied, not bothering to make me feel any better. "Andrea!" He turned the person behind him, the little girl who had opened the door. "Yes!" She replied. "Go make us some tea. I have some matters to discuss with my kohai here." Aizen ordered. "Okay!" the girl ran off. "Who's that? Yer kid?" I asked, settling down on the white leather couches. The whole room was white, as if any hint of another color would ruin the perfect balance in the house. "No. She's the daughter of my younger sister. Her parents died two years ago," Aizen replied quietly. I studied Aizen's face. Was there a sign of sadness or regret in his eyes? I couldn't tell. He always looked the same. "So, about your situation, Gin..." "Ah, yes, yes." I laughed nervously. "You see, mah previous boss laid me off from mah job as an editor for that stupid magazine. Now I need a place to live, y'know?" "Well, you can stay here, can't you?" I turned around. Andrea was back, holding a tray of a teapot, cups, and biscuits. "Andrea, it's not nice to eavesdrop." Aizen scolded her gently. "Deepest apologies." Andrea smiled brightly. "But Ojii-sama, the guest room is empty. We can have him stay with us for a few weeks, while he searches for a new job and house." she suggested. Aizen didn't even seem to think. "You're such a thoughtful child, Andrea." He patted her head. Andrea smiled happily, a small blush on her face. "Gin, why don't you stay with us for a while, then? Andrea certainly won't mind." Aizen turned to me, a creepy smile on his face. I returned his smile with my usual creepy fox smile (Yes I'll admit that I have a fox face). "Do ya mind, Aizen?" I challenged. "Of course not. I enjoy the company of my friends." Aizen replied, obviously winning whatever we were competing for.

~l~

One week of being unemployed, one week of living in someone else's house. It was so freaking painful. I sat in the kitchen of Aizen's house, watching Andrea scurry about, searching for the ingredients for her blueberry pancakes. According to Aizen, she was around 16 years of age, but she adapted to the personality of a 10 year old ever since her parents died. I rolled my eyes as I sipped on the instant coffee she prepared me. Should a girl with the mentality of a 10 year old be running around near a stove? But then again, Aizen liked having other people do his work, and he had no maids or servants. That guy was such an arrogant jackass. Not that I'd say it out loud while I'm living in his house. "D'you want butter or no butter?" Andrea asked, flipping the pancakes over. "None, thanks." I replied, searching the newspaper for job offers. "Syrup?" She asked. "No, thanks." I declined again. "Then I'm doooooooone~~~~~" She cheered, neatly stacking the pancakes onto a plate. She put it on the table before me. "Mmmhm." I said, still reading my newspaper. Silence. I looked up. She was staring intently at me. "Ya want me to eat it now?" I asked, frowning slightly. She nodded vigorously. I sighed and decided to humor her. I took a bite out of a pancake. Oddly enough, it was pretty good. "It's good, y'know." I said lazily, smiling at her. Andrea sniffed a little. Oh, great, was she gonna cry? I ain't good with tears. "H-heeeeeeeey, what's wrong? Is it mah creepy face?" I asked, handing her a tissue from the box on the table. "N-noooo, no one's every complimented me befooooore!" She wailed. "What 'bout yer uncle?" I asked, watching as the tissue was instantly soaked with her tears. "H-he never bothered! H-he's al-always so busy with work 'n stuff, so he never eats with me and stuff!" Andrea sniffled. Would it be rude for me to think that it was kinda cute? But watching the younger girl sniffing away was truly adorable. "Mama and Papa never complimented me either! They were always so serious and stuff!" Andrea continued confiding in me. Hey now, I didn't want that. I wasn't good at keeping secrets, and I didn't like listening to other people's problems too. But there she was, the frail little girl crying her eyes out in front of me. I felt a pang of pity, and just sat there as she cried about how she wanted so much for someone to compliment her.

~l~

I might get in trouble later. Andrea was fast asleep, using my lap as her pillow. It was Wednsday, and she had school. Would Aizen lecture me for not waking her up? I merely ignored my thoughts and wiped the remaining tears from her closed eyes. The child had faced a lot, and I deeply wanted to help her. But someone as heartless as me, there was no way I could do such a thing.

Might as well have her see a therapist.


	2. 2 Counselor and Model Student

_**Eeeeeeeeeeeh, I just really needed something to do to relieve my stress. It's finals week! So I'll have more time to type up this fanfic over after the rest of the week or something! Yay!**_

_**Read and Review, please? It's hard enough not knowing who my readers are.**_

**Disclaimer: Tite Kubo owns Bleach. Not me.**

_**Something New**_

**Chapter 2: Counselor and Model Student**

I've heard people say that teenagers were pretty rowdy, but I never believed it. Why? To start off, I had never been a rowdy teenager. I didn't have a parent or guardian to rebel against. I listened to my teachers, did what I had to do. The school I went to wasn't particularly full of crazy hooligans either. Ran-chan, who attended the same high school as Aizen and I, didn't particularly piss anyone off either. Sure, she started drinking around that age, but she didn't run around screaming her lungs out or throwing people out the windows or anything. She didn't go crazy, she would just get all tipsy. And whenever she drank, it was always when she thought she was alone, so she wouldn't have to trouble anyone, and definitely not that elderly grandma that took care of her. And Aizen, that guy was always the same. He always kept a calm demeanor, and an ever-so-perfect smile on his face. As far as I was concerned, his teachers loved him to death. And his parents, too.

After two weeks of living in Aizen's house, I noticed that Andrea had a weird personality switch every weekday. Before she goes to school, she's all cute and cheerful and peppy. When she comes back home, she snaps and acts all grumpy. Today was no exception. She had left the house, as fluttery as a butterfly. But when she came home, she was a pain in the ass.

I looked up from my newspaper when I heard the door open. Andrea stepped in and took off her shoes. "How was school, kid?" I asked. "Hn." Andrea replied, putting leaving her shoes out. "Aren' ya gonna put 'em away? Someone can trip over 'em." I raised an eyebrow. "Who cares?" Andrea said, walking right past the couch I was sitting on and towards the hallways. _"Bad day?"_ I thought, as I looked at her retreating back. "Oi, I made some candied apples, if ya want any." I called after her. "Eat them yourself, fox face!" she retorted. I heard a door slam shut. Ouch. That was mean.

But when morning came again, she was dancing about in the kitchen, making omlettes and humming to herself. "Mornin'" I said, trudging into the kitchen. "Good morning, Ichimaru-san! How was your sleep?" She asked ever so sweetly, throwing red peppers into the skillet. "Twas good..." I mumbled sleepily. I took a seat by the dining table. "So somethin' happen to ya yesterday? Ya were awfully snappy." She gave me an empty look. "I was?" She asked. I nodded and gave her a weird look, although my smile never left my face. "You were." She frowned and thought to herself. "Thank god today is Saturday." I sighed, propping my head against my arm. I began to drift off into sleep again, when I felt something hot and steamy under my chin. I opened my slitted eyes. Andrea was holding a plate underneath my chin. "If you're tired, you can go back to sleep in the afternoon. As for now, you should just eat breakfast, then go out for a nice long walk." She suggested. "Fiiiine." I drawled, picking up the fork that she had silently placed on the table. "Itadakimasu."

~l~

The day passed by rather slowly. It was only 10:57 AM. Andrea was locked up in her room, doing her assigned homework and studying for an upcoming exam. Aizen was yet again at work. Or was he? Not that it bothered me. I was lounging around in the house's library, skimming through the contents of an interesting book I found. My cell phone rang, startling me a little. I checked the caller I.D. It was Ran-chan. "Yo." I picked up my phone. "Giiiin, where are you?" my girlfriend immediately wailed into the phone. "Um... at a library?" I answered. I wasn't lying, though. "We should meet up! I wanna drink some sake with you! We should totally throw a party and stuff! I'll invite Hisagi and Kira and Renji and Nanao, and Nemu, and all those other people, and we'll have so much fun!" I rolled my eyes, wondering if she noticed that everyone she was inviting was from Gotei 13, the magazine that I had worked for. Hasn't she noticed that I didn't want to bother with them after I was laid off? "Ran-chan, it's a nice offer, but I'll pass." I cut her off before she started making plans again. "But Gin...!" I could practically see her pouting. "Sorry, sorry. I'll take ya out, after I find a good job again." I tried to assure her. "But, but... at least tell me where you're staying! You're still somewhere in Seireitei, right?" She asked. I frowned slightly. "No. I'm in Hueco Mundo." I answered. "WHAT? THAT SUPER RICH SNOBBY PEOPLE GATE COMMUNITY?" I covered my ear as she yelled through her phone. "Yeah, that's the one." I muttered. "You know someone who is rich enough to live there? Who? WHO?" Rangiku demanded, nearly blowing my eardrums off. "Eeeeeh, not important. I'll talk to ya soon, mmkay? Gotta go now." I quickly hung up. Rangiku despised Aizen, and if she found out I was living with him, she would undoubtedly attempt to hunt him down and slaughter him.

~l~

"Ne, ne, Aizen. Have you ever noticed that Andrea's personality changes?" I asked Aizen. He had come home for the rest of the day. We were sitting on the balcony of the fifth floor of Las Noches, his home. "It does?" Aizen asked, seemingly indifferent. "Mmmhm. Wheneva she comes home from school." I closed my newspaper and tossed it aside. "What's she like?" Aizen questioned. He obviously never saw it. But if he did, and didn't see a change, then he might wanna get his head checked. "Really mean. Not like 'er in da mornin's at all." I tapped on my armrest. "... Oh. In somewhat related news, I found a job for you." Aizen moved on, ignoring what I had just told him. "Really? Wha' is it?" I asked. "The school I'm sponsoring, Andrea's High School... They need a new guidence counselor." Aizen calmly began. "And I know you majored in psychology, so I thought you would be perfect for the job." he examined a paper cut on his hand while I looked at him in disbelief. "Me? Wit' a buncha disobedient high schoolers? No way!" I rejected his offer. "Besides, I doubt I would be hired, even if I did major in psych!" "I supply the school with 90 percent of its funds, Gin. They'll hire you. And if you take on the job, you can continue living in Las Noches with us." Aizen raised an eyebrow. Well, I did find it slightly comforting in Las Noches. And I also didn't like paying rent. "... Fine. Yer victory this time, Aizen." I agreed.

~l~

"... An' now I'm yer new guidence counselor. Let's have a great year together, guys..." I said awkwardly. It was my last classroom visit for the day. I was tired. For three hours straight, I had been visiting classrooms full of annoying, loudmouthed high schoolers. Just as I finally decided to examine everyone in the class, I noticed red hair. Andrea was sitting in the back of the classroom, a small smile plastered on her face. I was tempted to wave at her, but it wouldn't be nice to single her out, would it? I just decided to leave the room.

There were many things I noticed about Hueco Mundo High. For beginners, the uniform consisted of only the color white. Everything was white except for the ties and shoes, which were black. Shirt was white, blazer was white, pants and skirts were white... The school was as white as well. Walls, floor, desks, boards, vending machines... everything. Next, there was the student council. The members were called the Espadas. The Espadas probably didn't set the best example for the students (called the... arrancars?). There was Coyote Starrk, the leader of the Espadas. He was as lazy as hell, and slept whenever he felt like it. Louisenbarim Barragan looked like he got left back a few hundred thousand times. Harribel Tier kept quiet to herself most of the time, and rarely spoke up unless someone with higher authority expected an answer from her. Cifer Ulquiorra didn't bother obeying orders from anyone except the school sponsor (our beloved Aizen). Gilga Nnoitra had extremely lousy language, and he carried around a number of blades and swords and weapons. Jaegerjaquez Grimmjow was a jackass who kept on starting fights with random people. Rureaux Zommari was obviously arrogant, for he believed that he could do anything, as long as he had the knowledge to. Granz Szayel Aporro kept on talking about experimenting on people and things to reach perfection. Arruruerie Aaroniero showed no respect at all, as he wore a mask and refused to take it off. And Llargo Yammy, that moron was just plain retarded. Who the hell decided on this shitty student council? Okay, putting the Espadas aside... There was also Tousen Kaname, the priniple of the school. He's blinded by his one sided sense of justice. And he's blind, literally.

But enough complaining. My office rather cozy, much to my comfort. It was nice and roomy (and white). I was allowed to decorate it in any way I wanted to, so I merely hung a nice looking clock on the wall. Just as I closed my eyes to relax, someone stepped into the office. "Eeeeh, sure looks nice and comfy in here..." Andrea walked in, holding a notebook. "Heya kid. Watcha doin' here?" I asked. "It's lunch break. I needed a place to relax a little." Andrea plopped down onto a chair that sat across from my desk. "You don't mind, do you?" "Nope, not at all. But don't stay here too long, or ya might get in trouble." I made a hand gesture to tell her it was okay. She smiled, and closed her eyes. "Andrea, yer not acting normal." I said. She opened her eyes in an instant. "Of course I am." She said, giving me an unhappy look. "No, yer not. Yer too nice when yer at school. Instead of bein' a 10 year old, like ya are at home, yer like an idol here. Yer pretty well respected, aren'cha? An' ya ain't lettin' anyone know who ya are. Ain't dat the reason why yer always so irritated when ya get home from school?" I gave her a look of disapproval. I notied that her shoulders had started shaking. Crap. I might have taken it a bit too far. "... I don't know anymore..." She sniffed. "I-I don't even remember what I was like before my parents died...! I... I can't remember anything! Ojii-sama just told me how I should behave in public, and I just acted on his words! B-but when I stayed at home more, I realized that I didn't like being so... idol=like! I just wanted to be myself! So I started acting... childish... B-but whenever I come to sc-school, I instantly put on that fake mask!" She said, all in a shakey breath. Tears trailed down her face, and I felt extremely guilty. "... I'm sorry, kid." I patted her head. "But I'm here fer ya. I'll be here to respond to yer needs, 'kay? So no cryin', 'cos I'll wanna cry too." I ruffled her hair. She smiled, and looked up at me. I wiped the tears from her eyes. "I'll be here for ya." I said, planting a small kiss on her forhead. "An' that's a promise."


End file.
